Healthy glow for happy loving couples

Australians shot by Cupid's arrow are the happiest and healthiest in the land - until they get engaged.

After that things tend to get a bit stressful, particularly for the bride-to-be.

But the honeymoon glow lasts longer than most people think.

Couples with up to two children and people in same-sex relationships are among the happiest and healthiest, according to the Alere Wellness Index made up of scores for exercise, psychological wellbeing, nutritional health, alcohol, smoking, medical conditions and body mass.

Couples with three or more children aged under 16 have increased stress, according to the index, which is based on 50,000 surveys a year conducted by Roy Morgan Research.

Men in a same-sex relationship are prone to drinking too much and putting on weight.

Separated and divorced people are the least healthy, with poor psychological scores and high rates of smoking.

Single people, particularly women aged 35 to 49, do worst on a psychological level, according to the index.

But things improve for single people aged 65 and older.

In general, people who describe themselves as planning to get married do more exercise than others and are less likely to smoke or drink to excess.

And the people in the best psychological shape are those aged older than 65 who are planning to marry.

Younger engaged men and women are slimmer than other groups, but husbands-to-be perform less exercise and have a less healthy diet than average.

They also have better than average overall health but score badly on psychological wellbeing, with more than four in ten engaged women saying they feel stressed.